Entre ciel et terre

Oliver Stone's "Heaven and Earth" is a fantastic film that shows what the effects of war are on the human spirt. Now, more than ever this film is very poignant. The movie is based upon two of Lelay Hayslip's memoirs which chronicle her growing up in Vietnam and the effects of war upon her, her family and her country. It was fascinating and at times very difficult to watch. I couldn't help but thank God that as Americans we have not had to experience what the Vietnamese went through. The view of war that Stone portrays is very humanistic. One line in the film was especially riveting.... "Rebuilding a country after war is like having a family thru rape". We see how the war throws apart Lelay's family. If you haven't seen this film.. I highly recommend it!

"Heaven and Earth" follows the life of a Buddhist Vietnamese peasant girl through the protracted and convulsive American-Vietnam war, the aftermath and reconstruction. A solid three star flick, "H&E" is important inasmuch as it casts in concrete for posterity the Vietnamese perspective of the epic American fiasco in an entertaining movie format. As a stand-alone piece of work, "H&E" may grow somewhat tiresome after 2+ hours under the heavy-handed Stone auteuresmanship. Nonetheless, the film should have value for those who only know about the war from the typically biased American film point of view. (B)

Oliver Stone has always had a special bond with Vietnam. He is a veteran of that war and the theme about a veteran trying to cope with his war experiences is a subject that comes back in several of his movies. This is the last movie in his Vietnam trilogy. His first movie was "Platoon" (1986), his second "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) and the third one was "Heaven & Earth" (1993).

In Heaven & Earth he tells the true story of a Vietnamese village girl who survives a life of suffering and hardship during and after the Vietnam war. Before she meets and marries the U.S. marine Steve Butler, she already has had an entire life behind her. She once fled for the violence of the Viet Cong, leaving her farming village for Saigon together with her mother. But soon she disgraced herself by becoming pregnant with her new master's child and as an unmarried mother, she tried to make a living by being a freedom fighter, a hustler and sometimes a prostitute. As soon as they are married, they move to the USA, but life on the other side of the ocean certainly isn't as perfect as she imagined it to be...

Some people say that it is a good thing that Oliver Stone has finally made a movie that shows the Vietnamese perspective of the war and I agree, but only to a certain extend. It's true that we only get to see movies that show the American side of the story and that we need other movies that give us a broader view on the matter, but "Heaven & Earth" isn't the only 'reversed' Vietnam film. Perhaps not many people know this, but the French movie "Indochine" (1992) does approximately the same. The main difference with "Heaven & Earth" is that it doesn't talk about the 'American' period, but about the French colonial period that proceeded it and in which time the Vietnam war really started (The French had almost lost all their battles when the Americans came to help them and thereby got completely stuck into the war themselves...).

But it is true, Oliver Stone has done a nice job with this movie. He has made it an interesting character study, with the war always present in the background. The acting is very good and I don't think there could have been a better actor than Tommy Lee Jones to play the role of Major Steve Butler. The other actors all did a good job too, in fact, I might say that Stone has had an excellent cast to work with and he probably got the most and the best out of them.

If there is one lesser point to this movie, although only a small one, than it must be the language. The Vietnamese all start by speaking almost perfect English to each other, but when they speak to Americans their English is poor, yet when they speak to each other in front of an American its in Vietnamese. I believe it would have been better if Stone had chosen to let the Vietnamese speak their own language all the time and to speak with an accent when speaking to the Americans. But as I already said, I only see this as a minor detail and it certainly didn't spoil the good times that I had with this movie. This is an underrated movie that deserves to be seen by a great audience. I give it a 7.5/10 at least, perhaps even an 8/10.

This is the last film in Oliver Stone's trilogy about the Vietnam war (the other two are 'Platoon' and 'Born on the 4th of July'). It is also the least known. A shame really; not only is it an excellent film, but it is also one of the very few films that show the Vietnam war from the perspective of the Vietnamese (and from a woman, at that - which makes it even rarer). Impressive, shocking, sad and beautiful - and educating. 8 stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495

A different perspective of war, and very much needed one. This story covers the lives affected by war. The male lead undergoes emotional strain while the female lead contrastingly grows strength from, or perhaps in spite of the war.

The movie's subtext is thankfully never handed to you in a Hollywood-direct manner - yet the movie develops it thoroughly for the viewer. This is the most plain statement there is that war is much more than the sides of the conflict, the survivors, the wounded, the dead. And, it makes clear that the trauma caused affects many for a long long time, and for each it is their own journey.

Oliver Stone is obviously a master movie maker. He is a great story teller and you are always provided a visual and sound experience like no other. This movie contains some incredibly beautiful shots which all by themselves are worth the viewing. When combined with the plot, the beauty contrasts with the brutatilty to help develop the subtext mentioned above.

You might notice I have never said if I like the film. Because the subject matter makes me queasy, uneasy, I don't think I could ever say I like this. But, this is a very powerful film that got under my skin. So, here I am recognizing the movie for its message and method, not necessarily for providing me a Pavlovian reaction seeking more.

Instead of plopping in another war DVD, try this one. I bet you will walk away and it will continue to live with you.